EU puts forward measure to reject key derivatives regulations

Monday, 28 January 2013 07:39

After intensive discussion and debate, European policy makers have put forward a resolution to reject two key derivatives regulations laid out by the European Securities and Markets Authority, according to Risk magazine.

Most of the rules were approved without much reservation, but two of them have drawn criticism because of their treatment of corporate end users.

The regulations, which cover the requirements for central counterparties and a variety of factors around these institutions, include limits below which end users will not need to take added risk management measures. However, Esma designed the thresholds using gross notional value rather than net value, leading to the potential that businesses with relatively small exposure could be forced to work under the more stringent regulations.

Reuters reports that many in the European Parliament worry that the impact on businesses that use significant amounts of legitimate hedging could be significant. One notable example give was the airline industry, which operates with relatively low margins but makes extensive use of hedging to control fuel costs.

The committee that introduced the proposal will vote on the measure on February 5.